Wash Days

After being in a long protective style for most of summer, I decided to work on K and B’s hair on the same day. Grand ‘ole plans, right? I worked my back to the bone, but it was a great opportunity to try some of the new products from the “Yolanda Renee Takes The DMV” VIP swag bag starring BelNouvo, Alikay Naturals, Carol’s Daughter and Eden BodyWorks. Both of them had been wearing twists since the weekend of the last day of school. That was June. So, Sunday the process began and didn’t really end until Tuesday.

K: I deep conditioned her hair for a few hours with BelNouvo Creamy Castor Custard Deep Conditioning Treatment. I never heard of the company, but the creator was at the event and he was very nice in explaining the high quality of his all natural skin and hair care brand. You can find the entire line on www.etsy.com. The custard retails for $10.00 and is a paraben free, vegan treatment with ingredients such as Castor Oil, Safflower Oil, Rice Milk, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Pro-Vitamin B and “Inner Beauty.” It is truly a dessert in a jar. It reminds me of cheesecake with its vanilla custard scent. Next, I rinsed it out and washed/conditioned with the kids’ usual Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship line. Her hair was very soft and stretched with the BelNouvo product. Then, I moisturized with the 2oz Alikay Naturals Dulce Hydrating Curl Lotion, retails at $6.00, which has quality natural and organic ingredients including Vitamin E and Coco Butter in a watermelon scent for the night. I was very tired by 11pm dealing with her and her sister’s hair on the same day, but I wanted to make sure the hair was still moisturized overnight. The next day, I detangled with my Aloe Vera Juice, EVOO, and water mix in a spray bottle along with Kinky Curly Knot Today, oiled her scalp with Coconut oil, and used the jiggly, gel-like Alikay Naturals Crème Brulee Curling Custard to twist her up. An 8oz jar costs $17.00 at www.alikaynaturals.com. It elongated her curls so nicely with ingredients like Agave Nectar and Argan oil in a lemony, pineapple scent. So, K truly has a dessert in her hair-triple scooped- but with a soft, well moisturized coif yummy enough to admire. She let a few tears roll down when I didn’t have her 4b/c type hair damp enough to part. Must make a mental note about that to avoid next time.

B: Here’s the interesting bit about B’s hair. I could only start on the front ½ first, then the other ½ the next day. I dc’ed with paraben free Carol’s Daughter Sacred Tiare (anti-breakage & anti-frizz) Restoring Hair Mask, containing Coprah Coconut oil, Shea Butter, and Babassu oil mixed with the Tiare Gardenia Flower to strengthen strands and reduce frizz. It smells like it could be used as a scented body lotion and no one would realize it’s for hair. This 8oz. pot of gold, which usually retails for $15.00 @Target, is amazing. It made B’s hair feel like butter. It’s “no petroleum, no mineral oil, no artificial color” concoction has the stamp of approval to “instantly stop shedding and frizz.” Unfortunately, it may only lasts her 1, maybe 2 more uses. Next, I rinsed and washed/conditioned with the same HE duo in the sink, then moisturized the front with Eden BodyWorks Coconut Shea All Natural Pudding Souffle overnight. It’s formulated to give your thirsty hair the moisture it craves with an exotic blend of all natural ingredients which include Shea Butter, Jojoba oil, Vitamin E, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, and Glycerin. Great price, great product-16oz for $8.47 in select Wal-Mart stores. Smells heavenly! The creator was 13 yrs old when this brand came to life. Smart. I thought I’d be smart enough to get to the back of B‘s hair while it’s drenching wet. I can detangle her 3c/4a type hair better that way, but it was super late for all of us, so I applied the CD mask to that part for the night. The next day, I rinsed that out in the bathtub and repeat. Oiled scalp with CO, detangled the front with SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Extra-Moisture Detangler with Sea Kelp and Argan oil, twisted up the front with more EBW Pudding Souffle. She flinched a few times, but no tears. The back is currently a giant curly puff and she’s enjoying bouncing it around. The goal is to fully detangle that by the end of the week. Oh, the joys of having free products to try!

Both the deep treatment and hair mask advise you to use on clean or wet hair, but I’ve always preferred to deep condition our hair when dry and before the shampooing. Similar to an oil prepoo, deep conditioning first prepares the hair for all of the other elements I plan to use on it afterwards. It warms the hair up or stretches it, sort of speak, before its workout, melting the single strand knots that await when finger separating the strands under the water and opens the cuticle. Also, I didn’t detangle their hair during the dc. I finger separated the strands gently by pulling them apart after untwisting them and saved the full detangle action at the very end for styling. I never like to overmanipulate unless it’s necessary. The dc and regular conditioning in sections minimized the tangles, so we were not left with a matted mess. Their hair air dried while styling. It’s Little A‘s turn soon. She doesn’t even realize she’s next. Her wash day is coming up soon. Real soon. Good times.